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Insurance Question Analysis for MVP Design

This analysis examines the 127 questions extracted from cyber insurance forms to identify patterns and implications for GetCimple's MVP design.

Executive Summary

Insurance companies focus heavily on general compliance questions (72%), with specific emphasis on incident response (7%), governance (6%), and employee/third-party management (5% each). The new Chubb form adds employment practices and crime controls, expanding the scope beyond pure cyber risks.

Key Patterns Identified

1. Technical Control Verification

Pattern: Insurers want specific yes/no answers about security controls

  • "Do you use multi-factor authentication?"
  • "Are systems patched within 30 days?"
  • "Is antivirus installed on all endpoints?"

MVP Implication: Create simple control checklists that map directly to insurance requirements

2. Incident Response Readiness

Pattern: Heavy focus on breach response capabilities

  • "Do you have an incident response plan?"
  • "Have you tested your backups in the last 12 months?"
  • "Who is your designated breach notification contact?"

MVP Implication: Include incident response planning tools and contact registry

3. Quantifiable Metrics

Pattern: Insurers ask for specific numbers

  • Number of records containing PII
  • Annual revenue (for limit calculations)
  • Number of employees with admin access
  • Days to patch critical vulnerabilities

MVP Implication: Build data collection for key metrics that affect premiums

4. Third-Party Risk

Pattern: Consistent questions about vendor management

  • "Do vendors sign confidentiality agreements?"
  • "Do you assess third-party security?"
  • "How many critical vendors have access to your systems?"

MVP Implication: Include basic vendor registry and assessment tracking

Framework Alignment Opportunities

Essential Eight Coverage

Only 6% of questions directly map to E8, but many align indirectly:

  • Patching questions → E8 Application Patching
  • MFA questions → E8 Multi-factor Authentication
  • Backup questions → E8 Daily Backups

Recommendation: Create E8-to-Insurance mapping to show compliance value

ISO 27001 Alignment

11% direct mapping suggests ISO alignment adds insurance value:

  • Information security policy requirements
  • Access control procedures
  • Incident management processes

Recommendation: Highlight ISO control mappings in assessment outputs

Answer Type Implications for UI Design

Distribution Analysis

  • 48% Short Text: Need smart defaults and dropdown suggestions
  • 22% Yes/No: Binary toggles with explanation fields
  • 15% Multiple Choice: Radio buttons with "Other" options
  • 8% Numeric: Input validation with acceptable ranges

UI Recommendations

  1. Progressive Disclosure: Start with yes/no, expand for details
  2. Smart Defaults: Pre-populate based on company size/industry
  3. Explanation Prompts: When "No", prompt for compensating controls
  4. Validation Rules: Ensure numeric answers are within insurable ranges

Risk Pattern Insights

High-Value Patterns for MVP

  1. Technical Controls (18%): Direct impact on premiums
  2. Incident Response (15%): Demonstrates maturity
  3. Data Breach (7%): Critical for limit calculations
  4. Third Party (7%): Growing area of concern

Low-Priority Patterns

  1. Governance (1%): Less emphasis than expected
  2. Business Continuity (implicit): Folded into incident response

Recommendations for MVP Question Bank

Core Question Set (30-40 questions)

Based on insurance focus, prioritize:

  1. MFA implementation status
  2. Backup testing frequency
  3. Incident response plan existence
  4. Patch management timeline
  5. Employee security training
  6. Vendor access controls
  7. Data classification status
  8. Breach notification procedures

Question Design Principles

  1. Insurance-First: Align with what affects premiums
  2. Evidence-Based: Design for artifact collection
  3. Actionable: Each "No" should suggest improvement
  4. Measurable: Quantify where possible

Integration Opportunities

  • Auto-populate insurance forms from assessments
  • Track improvement impact on insurability
  • Benchmark against insurance requirements
  • Generate insurance-ready reports

Competitive Advantage

By aligning our question bank with insurance requirements, GetCimple can:

  1. Reduce time to complete insurance applications
  2. Identify gaps that affect premiums
  3. Track improvements that demonstrate lower risk
  4. Generate evidence packages for underwriters

Next Steps for Product Team

  1. Map Core Questions: Select 30-40 must-have questions from extraction
  2. Design Answer Flows: Create UI patterns for each answer type
  3. Build Evidence Model: Define what proof each answer needs
  4. Create Benchmarks: Set "good" thresholds based on insurance standards
  5. Plan Integrations: Design for future insurance form auto-fill